Chevy Dealership On The Move

It’s been in temporary housing since Lidia washed it away to China

Four months after being flooded and left buried under sand by Tropical Storm Lidia, the Chevy dealership in Cabo is getting ready to move into its new, permanent home. Owner Rodolfo Gonzalez, who has a total of 10 Chevrolet dealerships throughout Baja California, purchased the old Cadillac dealership out on the fourlane near San Jose.

Construction and remodeling has begun on the Cadillac building and soon you will see the new Chevrolet signs going up. The new dealership will open around the middle of January 2018.

The previous dealership location was on the south side of the fourlane just outside of Cabo. It was flooded by an eight-foot wall of water, which washed its cars (71 brand new models, 16 custom cars and 10 dealership vehicles) down the arroyo to Medano Beach and out to sea. Some of the vehicles got caught in trees, and never made it to China. They looked funny in the trees as long as they weren’t your cars

The building and the cars were a total loss. Thankfully, it was all covered by insurance, and there were no injuries to employees during the storm.

Roberto Violante, general manager of the dealership, says sales are now back to pre-Lidia levels. The dealership was no place for four weeks after the storm, before opening temporarily in the old Bridgestone tire store, out by Costco, in late September. All 60 dealership employees were paid in full during the closure.

The Bridgestone location will become the Chevrolet service center for Cabo customers once the new dealership is open. What? Chevrolets needing servicing? What’s up with that?

Once the insurance claims are settled, the old Chevy dealership location is expected to reopen as another business. Until then, it sits just off the fourlane, looking half buried and very forlorn.